


Flying High

by TenSpencerRiedPlease



Category: Captain Marvel (2019), Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Humor, Pre-Slash, Random & Short, i dont know bois this seemed like a good pairing, so like i wrote it out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-09
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-11-14 06:59:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18047768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TenSpencerRiedPlease/pseuds/TenSpencerRiedPlease
Summary: Carol watches the new mechanic mess with the engine in front of her. She looks deceptively small next to it but she’s seen the woman order her crew around. She isn’t the type to suffer incompetence kindly. “Hey,” Maria says, flicking her ear as she walks by. “Are you going to fly or stare at that poor mechanic’s ass all day?” she asks.“I wasn't staring at her ass, I was watching her work. Give me some credit here,” she says, walking off to join Maria because she does, in fact, enjoy flying.





	Flying High

**Author's Note:**

> So, have some Nebula/ Carol Danvers because this is what my rat brain thought up lol. 
> 
> Also, think of this as canon adjacent- Nebula is human (imagine bald Karen Gillan) but Carol’s backstory is pretty much the same minus her hero origins obviously. Also, there’s no Captain Marvel spoilers in here.

Carol watches the new mechanic mess with the engine in front of her. She looks deceptively small next to it but she’s seen the woman order her crew around. She isn’t the type to suffer incompetence kindly. “Hey,” Maria says, flicking her ear as she walks by. “Are you going to fly or stare at that poor mechanic’s ass all day?” she asks.

“I wasn't staring at her ass, I was watching her work. Give me some credit here,” she says, walking off to join Maria because she does, in fact, enjoy flying.

She doesn’t expect to be stopped on her way by and certainly not by the mechanic she’d only been watching work, honest. “Can’t fly today, I need to do maintenance,” she tells Carol.

“What? No, I need to fly,” she says, shaking her head a little.

She gets a steely look from the mechanic instead of a confirmation for flight. “The plane needs maintenance and I do work on my time, not yours,” she says harshly.

Carol turns to look at Maria, who looks just as confused as she does. When her confusion turns to a grin Maria shakes her head. “Don’t you dare,” she says, letting out a yell when Carol takes off. “Get back here!” Maria yells, chasing after her but she’s always been the faster one. Maria might be better at the tactical in the air but Carol is faster on her feet.

When she gets to Maria’s plane she climbs in, watching as Maria gets there just a touch too late. “Get out of there!” Maria says.

Carol shakes her head. “Not a damn chance.”

*

Nebula doesn’t much care for her coworkers because they irritate her and she knows they don’t like her either given how often they call her a bitch when they think she’s not listening. But she’s their boss and she’ll damn well tell them when they aren’t doing the work right. She’s had better teams then this and she’ll be damn sure this team gets better too. But there is one woman, tenacious if distracted, that catches her attention.

Carol is strange for the army, doesn’t tend to care for orders and has a hard time staying down when she’s fallen. Nebula has to admire the sheer strength it has to deal with coworkers who don’t much care for her presence. She knows what its like working in a field of men, they frequently insult her without ever realizing she’s better than them at her job, hence being in this position over them. Carol knows her skills are superior too, and her friend Maria’s but her attitude is totally different from Nebula’s. She learned to be hard, to ignore criticism when it made no sense and to develop a thick skin. Carol doesn’t seem to have the same methods.

Instead of a thick skin what she’s got is an impenetrable shield of humor and self worth. When something sets her back Carol makes it her business to get back up again and try and then do better until she’s mastered it. She gets her fair share of blowback but its like everything slides right off her as she stands back up to do it all again. Its intriguing, if strange.

This is what she’s thinking about while she’s got her head stuffed in an engine given that they’re no longer complicated to her. She can take this whole thing apart and put it back together again with her eyes closed she knows these planes so well. Her team doesn’t know them as well as she does and it annoys her when her authority is questioned when she’s undoubtedly the expert. “That any closer to being fixed?” someone asks and Nebula removes her head from her work to find Carol there, looking up at her with a grin on her face, aviators blocking her eyes, and a McDonald’s cup in hand. Weird combination, but it works on her.

“At the moment, no. Leave me to my work and it’ll be done quick enough,” she says, turning back to the engine.

“You ever take a break?” Carol asks, laughing.

“No. Neither do you. That’s what makes you so good,” she points out. Some people slack, some people are dedicated but lack talent, and some people are naturally born to fly with high level of motivation to get into the sky.

“Yeah, but I still know how to relax. Seems like you have a tough time with that,” Carol says. “Or so the guys say. But they managed to blow themselves up twice last week so maybe they aren’t reliable.”

They both know that’s probably the only true thing her team has ever said about her. “I swear the air force has sent me simpletons,” she mumbles and Carol laughs.

“Yeah, kinda. Its fun to watch you order them around though. They won’t admit it but they’re scared of you,” she says like Nebula doesn’t know that already.

“Good,” Nebula mumbles.

*

“God damnit Danvers, can you focus on something other then Nebula?” Maria says and rude alright, the woman has skills. Carol’s just admiring them. She’d die if she had all those parts scattered around her but its obvious Nebula knows what everything is and where it goes. She’s grilling her team something fierce though and its clear they’re failing her expectations.

“Come on Maria, you gotta admit her putting them all in their place is funny,” she says.

“Less funny when they nearly fucked your engine,” she points out.

Carol shakes her head. “Nah. Even if Nebula missed their mistake, and she wouldn’t, we both know I’m good enough to get out of it,” she says.

“You’re gunna get yourself killed one of these days,” Maria says, shaking her head.

“Maybe it’ll happen in your plane. You know, since you’re not quick enough to get to it,” she says and Maria shoves her playfully.

“Asshole,” she says.

Carol shoves her back, “you love me.”

“Only because I’m forced to,” Maria says and they both laugh.

*

Its not that Carol is surprised that Nebula has been experimenting with engines- she’s sure Lawson hand picked her for a reason, but she’s surprised to find that Nebula wants _her_  to test her new design. “Don’t look shocked Danvers, it was either you or Maria. You’re the best flyers,” she says, voice harsh despite that technically being a compliment. With Nebula its hard to tell.

Lawson raises an eyebrow, “what do you say, Danvers?”

She shrugs, “why the hell not?”

*

Nebula walks out with her, running over how everything works like they haven’t done this a million times already. “Out of curiosity,” Carol asks, “why me over Maria?” she asks. She’s been dying to know and so has Maria.

For a moment she doesn’t thin Nebula will answer given how shrewd she looks. “I like you better,” she says eventually and Carol laughs.

“Seriously? That’s it?” Its deceptively simple and so unlike Nebula.

She shrugs. “Maria is a better tactical flyer, but you’ll give this plane a run for its money. No one will put this thing through the ringer like you will. You’re insane. And I like you better,” she says, offering Carol a small smile.

“That’s more like it,” she says, winking at Nebula as she climbs into the plane.

*

Lawson looks nervous and she should. Nebula is sure everything will go right but this is testing and like any testing there are risks. Carol takes them on without worry, flying the plane through maneuvers easily and far faster than she should for a test. But that’s why Nebula chose her. Because she’s good, and she’s fearless, and because she’ll push Nebula’s designs to their limits. She’ll make sure everything that needs testing will get it and if something goes wrong she won’t choke.

“She’s got this,” Nebula tells Lawson.

“I know that, but you know how she is,” Lawson says.

Nebula nods. “That’s why I chose her.”

*

When Carol gets out of the plane she feels invigorated the way she does after all her flights. Nebula waits at the edge of the building , eyes on her design. “Its good,” Carol tells her as she approaches, “could be faster though.”

Nebula rolls her eyes, “its faster than anything currently in the air.”

“Could still be faster,” Carol tells her. She’s gifted with another small smile from Nebula.

“I’ll consider it in my design revisions but I’m more concerned with the steering.”

Carol grins, “steering’s fine. Make it faster.”

“Are you prepared to test it again?” Nebula asks, changing the subject.

Carol considers it for a moment. “Tell you what, I’ll gift you with another test run if you gift me with a date,” she says.

Nebula frowns. “I don’t do dates.”

“But you could, and I’ve been reliably informed that I’m a great date,” she says.

“By who, Maria?” Nebula says, hitting her where it hurts.

“ _Ouch_  Nebs, that hurts, really. Come on, you could use some time off to loosen up a little, have a good time. Your team has got you wound tight,” she says.

Nebula sighs, rubbing her temples. “They’re incompetent apes, I wish I had my old team,” she mumbles. Legendary team too, nicknamed themselves the Guardians of the Galaxy. Half of them went to NASA and the other half came to the army.

“Yeah, not gunna argue with you there,” Carol says, laughing. “Pretty sure they’re learning though.”

“At the speed of molasses moving through a snowbank,” Nebula mumbles.

“Better than my team. Maria is good,” she says and that’s it, that’s the whole short list of the best of the best.

Nebula looks pained. “You make a point.”

“I know. That date though,” she says. “Could be fun.”

“I don’t do fun,” Nebula says.

“We could do serious, I think there’s a museum in town.”

“There’s no museum I’ve checked,” Nebula says and of course she has.

“Fine. We can like... sit around and contemplate... life,” she says, falling short of serious topics to think about.

Nebula sighs. “You’re awful at this. But I accept, provided I get to rub you flying my designs in everyone’s faces,” she says and Carol snorts.

“That’s not even a real stipulation, I was going to do that later anyway. Maria has probably already started for me.”

Thankfully Nebula looks gleeful. “Excellent, lets go make people jealous!” she says enthusiastically, taking off towards the cafeteria area. Carol follows along, shaking her head but pleased that she’s totally going to get five bucks from Maria. She’s never been turned down for a date, not even from infamously prickly Nebula.

**Author's Note:**

> [My writing Tumblr](https://tenspencerriedplease.tumblr.com/)


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